Our Hidden Lives
by raindancyr
Summary: What happened to Sirius Black when he left Hogwarts that night with Buckbeak? Where did he go? Who did he meet? A story that in the Black, er, blanks.
1. Chapter 1

Sirius Black crouched lower against Buckbeak's back to try to shield himself from the icy slipstreams of air battering his face. His threadbare robes, stolen long ago from a careless drunken wizard during his first few weeks of escape, were hardly enough protection from the chill so high above the earth on this late spring evening. Yet he dared not stop his journey until he had put more distance between him and Hogwarts. He might not have a destination but anywhere away from the Dementor's kiss was good enough for him at the moment.

His heart was still racing, not from the cold or the thrill of the ride but from the fact that tonight, for the first time in twelve long years, someone besides himself knew the truth about what happened the night James and Lily Potter were murdered. Sirius was not responsible for the death of two of his best friends and although the number of people who knew this to be a fact was small, included were Remus Lupin and Harry Potter, the only two people Sirius had ever truly cared about believing him. The mere thought of these two holding this knowledge had kept him sane through many a long night in Azkaban and now that is was real, Sirius could finally accept that he was in fact free of the walls that had held him for so many years.

Harry. James' son. He had been braver than what could have possibly been expected from a thirteen-year-old boy. Earlier that night in the Shreiking Shack, he had been ready to fight Sirius to the death to protect his friends and his parents' memory. Exactly what his father would have done. For one brief shining hour this evening, when it seemed possible that Sirius' name could actually be cleared Harry had agreed to come live with him and for a moment Sirius wondered if all that time in Azakban had been worth it. Then Peter Pettigrew had escaped again and all chances of clearing his name had been lost. Sirius was on the run once again, yet this time with the knowledge that somewhere out there in the night there were people on his side.

Sirius had no idea where he was headed. Judging by the moon's location Buckbeak was flying south, and Sirius didn't think to tell him to change his path. The truth was that there was no place left on the entire isle of Britain that was safe for him now. The news of his escape had burned like wildfire through papers, both Wizard and Muggle, and there was no doubt to him that all manner of law enforcement agents would be looking for him. The best he could hope was that when Buckbeak landed he would be able to find some sort of suitable shelter for the night and he would be struck with inspiration come sunrise as to a plan for both of them.

Suddenly Sirius was jolted from his thoughts and almost jolted from his seat. Buckbeak had stopped flying and hovered in the air flapping his great wings.

"What is it, boy?" Sirius inquired searching the skies for whatever might have spooked the beast. He noticed a shimmer in the east, and for a moment he thought it was the moonlight dancing off a cloud and almost laughed out loud and the hippogriff's skittishness till he noticed that the shimmer seemed to moving towards them both at a rapid speed. As it grew closer and larger, Sirius started to panic. His wand had been taken from him long ago and still resided somewhere in the bowels of Azkaban along with whatever belongings he had entered the prison. Whatever this thing was he had no way to defend himself from it and he considered having Buckbeak land regardless of their present location. He would much rather have a shot at facing it with two feet planted firmly on the ground. He certainly hadn't endured a dozen years in Azkaban and the greatest escape in Wizarding History to have it all end falling to his death of the back of a renegade hippogriff. The words were just about to leave his lips when a trilling sound rang through the air that filled his heart with warmth. A phoenix song. He allowed the object to grow closer and was soon able to distinguish flapping wing and its long feathered tail. To his surprise Buckbeak no longer seemed frightened but curious of their new visitor. It was not the vibrant red and golds of a true phoenix but a glowing silver white, solid but translucent enough to see the moon's light through its wings.

The patronus flew within a few feet of them when it stopped and opened its mouth. This time, instead of the bird's song, a familiar but welcome voice came out. "Sirius, go Godric's Hollow. I will meet you there as soon as I can. Be careful." And with that the phoenix dissolved and vanished. Buckbeak squawked as if he understood the bird and tilted head so that one of his yellow eyes lay on Sirius as if waiting for directions.

"Southeast," Sirius said and tucked himself low into its feathers again as they headed towards their destination.

Albus Dumbledore stared out the window of his office. Somewhere out there Sirius Black was tearing through the night and he wondered if his Patronus had found him yet. The old manner of communication of the Order of the Phoenix was still as safe as it had been. No wizard could mimic the form of another's Patronus and he knew that it would not stop until it found Sirius. The only safer method he could think of was sitting on his perch behind him.

The phoenix was truly an amazing creature. It was impossible to assume the life span of a phoenix, if in fact ever died at all due to its powers of regeneration. It was immeasurably strong, its tears could cure any illness or injury short of death, and it had the ability to appear and disappear to any location. Loyal to the point of its own death, yet it was an extremely rare companion for a wizard. In fact Dumbledore knew of only one other person who could make the claim of having a phoenix for a companion, and it was that person who he felt might be the only person who would be able to help Sirius Black right now. He sat down at his desk and wrote a short letter.

"Fawkes, I need you to take this to your friend GrÃ¡inne, if I am right and I usually am, this might the only way to protect Sirius." Fawkes tilted his head while listening and nodded. He took the note in one of his claws and disappeared in a burst of fire.

It was a cold night in the mountains of Poland, but Lucy Ollivander had a job to do and she wasn't going to get to warm anytime soon if it didn't get done. She had been tracking the graphorn for three miles already over rocky terrain in her silenced boots just waiting for the perfect shot. The beast, a large male with excellent horns, had finally stopped to take a drink from the stream and rest for a bit. She took off her pack, withdrew her bow and climbed a nearby pine tree to ensure a perfect shot, back of 

the neck, the animal would never know what hit him. She took her wand from her thigh holster and placed a silent engorgio on the bow and arrow, or else it would never pierce the graphorn's thick skin. She had just cocked back the bow when a loud pop and the trill of a phoenix song almost made her fall out of the tree. It also succeeded in scaring the graphorn, who took off into the woods at top speed.

"Gráinne," Lucy sighed in frustration. "You made me miss my shot. You know better than that. Do that again and next time you stay home." Lucy jumped down from the tree, reduced her weapons again and put them away. She picked up her pack and looked around for her phoenix, who was sitting in the branches of a tree not far away, and she wasn't alone. She gave Lucy a look of disdain as if to say, 'Clearly I know better when you're hunting but you better have a chat with him.' The phoenix beside her was bobbing his head up of down and spreading his tail feathers in show in an attempt to catch the female phoenix's attention. She was thoroughly unimpressed.

"Stop flirting, Fawkes." Lucy said the phoenix. "You're wasting your time, my girl's playing hard to get." Fawkes strutted himself a few more times before flying to a lower branch closer to Lucy and extending his leg and its contents. "What have you got there?" She took the letter. "Godric's Hollow huh? Tell Dumbledore I'll meet him there." Fawkes trilled once more in acknowledgement and disappeared into a burst of flame.


	2. Chapter 2

James and Lily Potter's house was a burned out shadow of the cottage it once was. The parts of the roof that hadn't been blown off by Voldemort during his attack had nearly collapsed in the thirteen years since. One side of the brick facade of the second floor still stood in silhouette against the night sky, but the right side of the house, where Harry's nursery was and where Voldemort had fired that fated curse, had been blown almost completely away. Vines had taken over the shell of the house making it appear almost as a natural part of the landscape. A tree grew from what was once the dining room out of the hole in the second floor. The fidelius charm that had failed to protect the Potters had been broken long ago, but it held a strong confundus charm to keep the muggle villagers away. It had simply become a symbol of all that was lost during the first war. Lucy glanced at the long dead bunches of flowers that were placed along the garden gate. Apparently some people did still come round on Halloween to leave some token of their affections for the couple, and more importantly for their son who was believed to be the savior of the wizarding world. She had come a few times with her parents when she was a child, but it had upset her so badly to remember Lily and James even though she had only met them a few times, that her mother stopped bringing her.

Lucy stepped through the gate and onto the property. She wandered around a bit, poking at the wooden swing still hanging from the tree in the front garden and closed her eyes. Even after all these years the residual magic left from the attack was still quite strong. Whatever had happened to protect Harry Potter from the Avada Kedavra that night had taken a considerable amount of energy. If she had the time or even knew why she was here in the first place, she would have enjoyed investigating it a bit.

A loud pop issued behind her and Lucy spun around to find Albus Dumbledore in a swirl of purple robes walking up to her. "Miss Ollivander," he said nodding his head. A second after his appearance came Fawkes who immediately flew up to the tree branch above the swing where Gráinne was sitting smoothing her feathers. He started his strutting again. Dumbledore glanced up and took note of his familiar. "Ah, it appears some things never do seem to change."

Lucy strode forward and embraced the older man, "When it comes to those two I would tend to agree and please Professor, how many times must I ask you to call me Lucy, Miss Ollivander makes me feel like I am still at Hogwarts."

"I apologize my dear," he replied. "Sometimes old teachers never seem to realize when their students have grown up."

Lucy smiled. "So tell me sir, what is so important to have me apparating in from Poland to Wales in the middle of the night?"

"What were you doing in Poland?" Dumbledore asked.

"Graphorns." she replied.

Dumbledore smiled, he had always found Lucy's choice of careers most amusing for a girl who had been so timid at Hogwarts. "Severus will be thrilled. He is of the opinion that the ingredients you acquire are far superior to any sold those 'dunderheads calling themselves apocatheries,' I believe were his exact words."

"It is hard to imagine Severus being thrilled about anything, but I am pleased at the compliment."

"It has come to my attention most recently," Dumbledore began, all levity gone from his voice. "That a very grievous error has been made regarding the guilt of a certain escaped convict."

"Who? Sirius Black?" Dumbledore nodded. "Pardon my pun sir, but you can't be serious."

"I am most certain." He replied.

"How?" Lucy asked.

"When James and Lily Potter went into hiding, I suggested to them that they go under the protection of a Fidelius Charm. I, of course, offered to be their secret keeper myself but James was determined to use his best friend, Sirius, instead..."

"Pardon the interruption sir, but I am aware of this, it's practically folklore in the wizarding world. Black was their secret keeper, therefore only he could have revealed their information to You-Know-Who..."

"Never fear a name, my dear, it just gives it more power." Dumbledore nodded, "All this is quite true, however Black could not have done this if he was not, in fact, the Potter's secretkeeper."

"Not the secretkeeper?" Lucy asked, her Scottish accent growing thicker with the shock she felt about this most unexpected revelation. "But...but then who?"

"Peter Pettigrew."



"But Pettigrew was blown up. Even if he didn't reveal the Potter's location, Black is still a murderer at best, of one his best friends, no less." At that exact moment, Lucy heard a rustling of leaves behind her and spun around wand drawn. However, instead of a possible threat she found the source of the noise to be a large, mangy black dog. She reholstered her wand, and called the dog over. "Here boy, c'mere." The dog trotted over tongue lopping from the side of its mouth. "Aren't you a pretty boy, must be a stray, huh? I bet you're hungry, yes you are. Let's see what we have for you in my pack."

"You have a way with animals, Lucy." Dumbledore noted with a most bemused sparkle behind his bright blue eyes.

"Well sir, it's hard not to when you're raised on a farm full of magical creatures." she answered. She came across a few pieces of beef jerky her bag and held them out to the dog. He sniffed them, gave a happy bark and then proceeded to devour them in record time. Afterwards, he rolled over on to his back and let Lucy give him a good belly scratch. She looked up from her ministrations on the dog spoke, "As I was saying, unless Pettigrew blew himself up Black is still guilty."

"Actually, Lucy, I believe that is exactly what he did."

"But why? I mean I understand framing Black if he was truly the ones who betrayed the Potters but why blow himself up? There's no reward in that. Yes, Black is framed but Pettigrew would still be dead, at the point what does it matter whether he took the rap or not?"

"Unless," Dumbledore began.

"Unless," Lucy interrupted. "Pettigrew escaped himself, but how? I've seen pictures of the scene sir, there was a crater in the street where Pettigrew was...and they found his finger. How could he have gotten away without anyone noticing?"

"I believe I have the answer to that," a new voice answered from below her, Lucy looked down to see that the furry belly that had belonged to the large, mangy dog a moment ago, now belonged to a large, mangy man. He was wearing filthy robes and long, matted black hair hung around his gaunt face and down past his shoulders. She was so surprised she tried to jump back and ended up landing flat on her bottom. The man sat up from the ground where he had been enjoying his belly rub and got to his feet. Lucy could only stare up at him with shock on her face as he offered her a smile and his hand.

"Sirius Black." she gasped.

"In the flesh," he replied. "Actually these days, the lack thereof."

Still stunned, she accepted her hand and got back to her feet. "You're an unregistered animagus. Ha!" Lucy shouted beginning to pace and forth while she pieced everything together. "Makes complete sense now. THAT'S how you escaped from Azkaban, bloody Dementors only look for wizards. That's how you've been hiding from the Ministry and getting into Hogwarts...no one's been looking for a great mangy dog..." Sirius at least had the decency to look slightly offended by her comment. Suddenly she stopped in front of him and looked dead in his eyes. "But that doesn't explain how Pettigrew got away unless...unless..." A look of realization dawned on Lucy's face.

"Exactly, Miss Ollivander. Pettigrew was an animagus as well. I knew you, more than anyone, would understand." Dumbledore supplied.

"What is he?" she asked.

"A rat." Sirius answered, with a note of disgust in his voice.

"Ironic." Lucy replied.

"Yes, it is." said Sirius. "I should have known."

The trio sat in silence for a moment before Lucy finally asked, "Why now? Why not break out before this if you knew you were innocent? Why not tell your story? And where is Pettigrew now?"

Sirius sighed, "Well for starters, I never had a chance to tell my side of the story, I was sent to Azkaban without trial, although I admit at the time, I was hardly in a sane state of mind. James and Lily were dead, betrayed by someone who we believed to be our best friend, and my godson was gone to live with muggles. I am sure you know of the reputation of the Blacks, they were hardly thrilled with my decisions in life and disowned me years before. I had nothing to live for, and in that state, Azkaban was as good a place as any to be. But earlier this year, it came to my attention that Peter Pettigrew was at Hogwarts within close distance of my godson, Harry, and everything changed. I had something to do, I had to protect him." Sirius' face changed as if he had become extremely tired in a short amount of time. He sat down on the tree swing and looked up at her. "As to where Pettigrew is now, I do not know. But for one hour tonight he was revealed at Hogwarts to myself, Remus Lupin, Harry and his friends. Outside of yourself and Dumbledore here, they are the only ones who know the truth."



Lucy said nothing; she was still processing all the information the two men have given her and wondering where she fit in. "So, why me professor? Do you want me to find Pettigrew?"

Sirius jumped up from the swing with a look of wonder on his face. "Do you think you could?" he asked.

"I have no doubt that if anyone was capable of locating Mr. Pettigrew, it would be you Lucy, but I fear that may prove too difficult for even your skills. I have no doubt that we will all be seeing Peter again someday. My intentions in asking you here however were to insure Sirius' safety."

"Dumbledore, I don't need..." Sirius began.

"Sirius, you need her help. You are the most wanted wizard in Britian at the moment. I am sure that Fudge has every available auror on the lookout for you, he was most displeased when you managed to slip through his fingers at Hogwarts. Surely, you cannot keep surviving the way you have been indefinitely; you don't even have a wand."

Sirius hung his head, he had no argument with what Dumbledore said, but he wasn't fond of the idea of depending on anyone else. Lucy however, seemed to take the news with stride. "I understand professor. We will leave now if you like. I won't tell you where, that way if that git Fudge tries to get you to use veritaserum, you have nothing to cover up." Dumbledore smiled.

"Wait, the hippogriff Buckbeak, what will happen to him? Can he come with us?" Sirius asked.

"Not on this trip," Lucy answered. "But if the professor here is willing to take him, I am sure my father will give him a place on the farm until we can return."

"I would be most delighted." said Dumbledore. "It's been years since I took a ride on a Hippogriff. Does your mother still make those wonderful tea biscuits?"

"Of course, Professor. Shall I send a note ahead to let them know you are coming?"

"No, that is alright, I will take care of it."

"Good, then I guess we best be off." Lucy said. She opened her pack again and fished around a bit before pulling out a large brass key ring with many antique looking keys hanging off of it. She flipped through the keys until she came to a particularly ornate copper colored one and unclipped it from the ring, putting the ring itself back into her back. "Ready?" she asked Sirius.

"As I'll ever be." he replied. "Goodbye, Professor."

"Goodbye, Professor. I'll be seeing you soon. Say hello to my parents for me."

"Take care both of you." The old wizard replied, and then looked up. "Come along, Fawkes." The male phoenix let out what could only be a song of disappointment and hopped a few branches down from the object of his affections.

Lucy turned to Sirius again. "Hold onto the key with me." He did as she requested and she pulled her wand from his holster. "Portus."

And they vanished into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

The first thing Sirius saw when he opened his eyes was blue the color of the night sky. It had been so long since he had used a portkey to travel that he had landed face down on the tile floor, instead of on his feet.

"Are you alright?" he heard a voice from above him ask. The light behind her caused her blonde hair to appear like a halo.

"Yes, I think so," he replied and rolled over. "Just my ego bruised."

Lucy smiled and helped him to his feet. "Are you hungry?"

"Actually," Sirius replied. "I'm starving, that jerky you gave me earlier was the only thing I had to eat today."

"Oh, just give me a second then," she answered. "Hello! Leal?"

A pop signaled the appearance of a house elf, but she was certainly like no house elf Sirius had ever seen. She was wearing a bright pink tea towel with a ruffle on the bottom of it, tied with a turquoise sash. She had long black eyelashes surrounding her big yellow eyes. Gold hoops dangled from her bat wing ears.

"Miss Lucia!" it cried, hugging Lucy around the knees. "Leal was not expecting you! She is so happy to see you!"

"I'm happy to see you, Leal. This is my friend Sirius, he's going to be staying here with us." Leal looked Sirius up and down, her eyes widening in surprise at his disheveled state. It made Sirius feel a bit self-conscious. It had been twelve years since he had a haircut and his hair hung down his back in tangled mats. He didn't remember what it felt like to take a warm shower since all he ever got in Azkaban was a quick scourgify once a week when the chambermaid came to clean his cell and he had been bathing as a dog in cold rivers and streams all year. His robes were filthy and threadbare. He must have looked like this poor little house elf's worst nightmare. "Leal, we are both more than a bit hungry if you could possibly fix us something to eat. Then if you could fix the guest bedroom for Sirius and run us both a hot bath I would be most appreciative. I've been hunting all night and every muscle in my back hurts. Oh, and Sirius will need some clothes. We will go shopping tomorrow, but can you alter something of mine for him tonight?"

"Of course, Miss Lucia, right away. And Mr. Sirius, welcome." And then she disapparated.

Lucy walked through the house to three sets of wooden doors, she opened the middle set and walked out and Sirius followed onto a beautiful terracotta patio surrounded by palm trees, colorful flowers, and a high white garden wall. He took a deep breath of the humid air and could smell the lush blossoms perfuming the night and something else. Salt and fish. He realized he could hear the sea in the distance. "Where are we?" he asked.

"Brazil. North of Rio de Janeiro."

"Its beautiful." Sirius said.

"I love it here. I came to South America so often with my work I finally decided to buy a place here. Leal came with the house, the witch who owned the house before me was very old and was going to live with her daughter who had her own house elves."

"What is it that you do exactly?" Sirius asked.

"I'm in acquisitions of sorts." Lucy answered, smiling.

"Well that's a vague answer if I ever heard one." Sirius replied

"It's actually a little bit of everything. For instance, tonight when Dumbledore contacted me I was in Poland hunting graphorns…"

"Graphorns! You! Are you joking with me?"

Lucy laughed. "Yes graphorns. They're dangerous but not impossible to kill, but they are also very useful. Their skins can repel more curses than dragon hide and when powdered, their horns are vital in several very important potions. That's mostly the kind of work I do. Difficult to acquire potion ingredients, occasionally I get the search for a rare item, and orb of this or that, but its exciting and I get to travel a lot."

"How did you get into that?"

"My two favorite classes when I was at Hogwarts were Care of Magical Creatures and Potions. I suppose the animals came naturally to me, my father has a farm of sorts near Glasgow, that's where I had Dumbledore take your hippogriff. My dad loved magical 

creatures when he was a child and he would bring home any kind of stray or injured animal he could find. He met my mom because her family bred kneazles and crups and when they got married they traveled all over with MAPS, the Magical Animal Protection Society, breaking up illegal trade rings and poachers and such. In the meantime the amassed quite the collection of creatures, usually abused or unable to return to the wild or what not. So I grew up around hippogriffs, winged horses, unicorns, porlocks, demiguises, augerys, diricawls, you name it. Dad even fed the garden gnomes."

"Sounds interesting," Sirius said.

"It was, I thought it was completely normal, I didn't even realize when I was small that most people, muggles, didn't even realize that these creatures existed. When I got to Hogwarts I fell in love with potions…"

"You weren't by any chance in Slytherin were you?"

"No, no." Lucy laughed. "Ravenclaw, through and through, both my parents were. But I loved the idea of mixing things together to get something else. Then I began to wonder where all the different ingredients came from. I used to drive Professor Snape mad with questions. Now he's one of my best clients." Sirius grimaced at the mention of Snape's name. "Not a fan of Severus then?"

"We were in the same year at Hogwarts, he was a greasy git then and its seems he has only gotten larger and greasier over the years. Plus earlier tonight he threatened to turn me over to the dementors to be kissed, so I still have a bit of a bad taste in my mouth about it."

"Very understandable." Lucy smiled. At that moment Leal popped in to inform them that dinner was ready in the copa, the small room next to the kitchen. She had prepared churrasquinho, barbequed beef dipped in manioc flour, and white rice. They ate in silence, both of them were quite hungry with Sirius leaning more towards ravenous.

After they were finished Leal served sweet corn cakes for dessert and media, hot milk with a bit of coffee in it. Sirius was enjoying the meal immensely, but his mind was still racing. He didn't want to seem rude or ungrateful for the hospitality but there was one question that his mind just wouldn't stop asking. "Why do you believe me?" he asked suddenly.

Lucy's dark eyes shot up to meet his gray ones. She stared at him for a long time. In the low light her eyes appeared almost brown but they were in fact a dark violet, the color of spring pansies. Sirius was fascinated by them and almost forgot he had asked a question when she answered. "Because Dumbledore believes you, and I believe Dumbledore."

Sirius sat back in his chair. It was the answer he had expected but at the same time he wished it wasn't. If his innocence relied on Dumbledore's word alone, he would spend the rest of his life with people always doubting Dumbledore's trust in him. Until they found a way to catch Peter he would never be free.

"And I met you once before."

"When? I don't remember ever meeting you before tonight."

"Well you wouldn't have, I was a gawky 11 year old. It was the summer before I left for Hogwarts. My parents were never actually in the Order, but they have always been supporters of Dumbledore. My mother was the mid-witch who delivered Harry. The night he was born my mother brought me to house in Godric's Hollow with her. I watched James and you together that night. It never made sense to me that you could have betrayed them; you were so much like brothers. He was climbing up the walls that night and you were the one trying to keep him calm, but every time he left the room, you were just as nervous as he was."

"God," Sirius sighed. "I remember that night, but I am sorry I don't remember you there."

"That's ok, you had other things on your mind that night, not holding onto the image of a bored eleven year old." Lucy smiled and took a sip of her drink. "I could just never rectify the image of you two that night with the villain they made you out to be afterwards."

"I had a brother, Regulus, we were close when I was young, but once I got sorted into Gryffindor everything changed at home. I was hardly my parents' favorite child before but after I went to Hogwarts it became unbearable. It didn't help that Reg came to Hogwarts the year after me. He got into Slytherin, made friends with the 'right people', which according to my parents meant purebloods and future deatheaters. My friends became my family but James especially was like a brother to me." He looked Lucy dead in the eye. "I would have died rather then betray them. You understand?"

"Yes." Lucy answered quietly.

Sirius sat back in his chair and some of the tension in his body seemed to leave. "I do remember your mother that night. James was so hysterical she slapped him clear across the face. He was so surprised that this little bit of a woman hit him it actually shut him up. Believe me that was never an easy task."



Lucy laughed. "That sounds exactly like Mum. She was so impressed with the Midwitches when she had my brothers and I that she got the training to become one herself, but I guess all those years wrangling wild animals left their mark. Last time I spoke with her she had just delivered her 3000th baby."

A pop announced Leal's return. "Miss Lucia your baths is ready."

"Well that sounds like a bit of heaven." Lucy answered and stood up. Sirius did the same. "Leal can you show Sirius to his room?"

"Of course, this way Mister Sirius." Sirius followed the little elf out of the copa, glancing back over his shoulder to where Lucy stood.

"Go on," she said. "I'll see you later." With that, he disappeared into the darkness of the hallway.

Sirius had no idea how long he had been sitting in the tub, basking in the warmth of the water. It had been years since he had felt so warm and he was enjoying the feeling of it seeping deep into his bones. Leal had filled the tub with scrubbing bubble bath so he could just sit back while they did all the work, scouring their way through layers of dirt and grime. Sirius wondered if with all the filth on him they might take a layer of skin off by accident, but all he could feel was a mild tingling, so he didn't see a reason to worry. He had just about drifted off to sleep when a knock at the door had him sitting straight up.

"Sirius," a voice called from the other side of the door. "Its Lucy."

Sirius checked to make sure the thick white foam on the surface of the water wouldn't give her an eyeful before calling for her to come in. She entered wearing pink cotton pajama pants and pink tank top with her hair pulled up on top of her head in a ponytail. She looked considerably different from the woman he had met a few hours earlier who was all business. This version of her made it easy to see the girl she must have been all those years ago.

"I was starting to worry," she admitted. "You've been in here over an hour I thought you might have drowned."

"No," he said. "Just enjoying the bath. I can't remember the last time I was in one."

"Hmm, I don't imagine they have a spa at Azkaban do they?"

"No." he said grimly.

"Well," she smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "I noticed it's been a while since you've seen a barber as well, and I thought this might come in handy." She held up a silver comb. "It was mine when I was a little girl, its charmed to remove any tangles from your hair. My mum got it for me after listening to me whine for millionth time that she was pulling too hard when she combed my hair for me. I thought I could help you with your hair if you like, you have so much of it, if not I'll just leave it on the counter for you."

"No," Sirius answered. "I would appreciate your help. Let me just get out of the bath."

"That's ok, enjoy it a bit longer, I'll just pull up a chair." Lucy grabbed the stool from the vanity and placed it at the head of the bathtub. She transfigured a hand towel into a bath pillow for him and placed it behind his head. "Just lay back and relax."

She started slowly at the ends of his hair and worked her way up with smooth, methodical strokes. It had been so long since he had any type of human contact that a sudden need for it welled up inside of him and became almost painful. Long minutes passed as she worked in silence, and when it was broken, it surprised him that he was the one speaking. "Thank you. For this and for everything, you owe me nothing and my presence can only cause you trouble."

"Sirius," Lucy began.

"Please don't," he interrupted. "Anything you say now won't be the truth. I know how dangerous this could be for you."

"I was just going to say your welcome."

"Oh." He answered. Lucy picked up a bottle of shampoo and began to massage it into his scalp. He practically moaned out loud at the sensation. She used her wand to send a stream of warm water to rinse it from his hair and followed it with something else that smelled like lavender. "What is that?"

"Mrs. McGee's Instant All Repairing Hair Conditioner. Guarantee to instantly fix years of damage from split ends, over styling, or apparently spending over a decade in a wizarding prison without access to proper grooming products."



Sirius laughed, a real honest chuckle. It sounded almost rusty as the noise came out of his throat. "I know its probably hard for you to tell know, but I used to be quite good looking."

Lucy sent another stream of water forth from her wand to rinse out the potion. "Obviously modesty wasn't a trait that crossed your path in Azkaban."

"In fairness, not a lot of things cross your path in Azkaban."

"Quite true," Lucy conceded. "Well you're all done here. You could give Dumbledore a race for his galleons when it comes to long flowing manes now."

Sirius fingered a strand of his hair that now detangled went way past his elbows. "Yes, I supposed I could use a trim, or a few of them."

"I could do that for you if you like." Lucy answered.

"I would like that."

"Well, there's a bathrobe on the back of the door, I'll leave so you can dry off, but I'll wait outside just call me when you're ready."

She left and Sirius got out of the tub. He wrapped himself in a large, fluffy towel and pulled the plug on the bathwater watching years of dirt circle the drain. In a small way he felt liberated watching it go. A year ago he couldn't imagine he would be in this place now, a foreign country with a witch he barely knew, but most importantly free. He had never imagined he would be free again. He dried himself and then wrapped up in the black silk bathrobe Lucy had indicated to him. He opened the door of the bath and found her sitting on his bed.

"Do you like the room? I figured you would do well with your old Gryffindor colors." She asked, indicating the scarlet bedclothes and red and gold curtains.

"I daresay it's the nicest bedroom I have had in years." He replied.

Lucy giggled. A light, tinkling sound that made Sirius' stomach flutter. "Come now, let Miss Lucy work her makeover magic." She reentered the bathroom, pulling the stool she had been sitting on earlier in front of the mirror and indicating for him to sit on it. "How long would you like it?"

"Well," he said sitting down. "It was about shoulder length before."

"Why don't we start with that and we can go shorter if you like?"

"Sounds good." He said and she went to work. She cast a quick drying charm on his hair and then produced two elastic bands. She took his hair in her hands and gathered it together placing one on the base of his neck then braiding the rest and placing the other elastic at the bottom. She then picked up her wand again and cast a severing charm and placed the long black braid on the counter in front of him. "What are you going to do with that?" he asked.

"There's a muggle organization called Locks of Love my mother told me about. They make wigs from human hair for children who have lost their own hair because of medical treatments or disease. I thought you might want to donate your hair, that way at least something good may come of all that time you spent growing it."

"I like that idea." Sirius murmured.

"I thought you might." She answered, placing her want on the counter next to the braid and picking up a pair of silver scissors. "I've never mastered the art of cutting hair with a wand so I'm afraid were going to have to do this the muggle way."

She stood in front of him and ran her fingers through his hair and then taking sections of it and trimming it with the scissors. As she worked, Sirius closed his eyes and began to relax again into her touch. He could smell her all around him, flowers-lavender, rose, and a hint of jasmine-all mixed with a light musk. It was the most amazing thing he had smelled in a very long time and different from any other woman he could recall. Lily had always smelled like lilies ironically, lilies of the valley to be precise. His last girlfriend used to wear some type of oriental perfume, rich and mysterious, it reminded of incense used in muggle temple he had smelled once on a trip to Japan for the Order. Lucy smelled clean and fresh, like garden in the rain, but with a hint of something else. She moved around him in circles for a while before standing in front of him and declaring herself finished.

"Hmm, not quite." She stated, picking her wand. "May I?" He had no idea what she meant to do but nodded his head in agreement anyway. She cast a shaving charm and he felt his beard disappear. "Open your mouth." She instructed, and when he did she said 

the words "Dentis Perfectus." He felt as he had just swallowed a mouthful of hot tea but the feeling quickly subsided. "There, all done."

She stepped away so that he could see his reflection in the mirror. He didn't recognize himself for a moment. His hair, though still wavy and long, hung around his face in neat layers. His pale face shone back at from the center of it. He tried a small smile and found that she had repaired his decayed, yellow teeth into the straight, dazzling white state in had been before. He was so stunned, he found he couldn't even speak.

"I know. Wow, huh?" she remarked from over his shoulder.

"Thank you." He stammered.

"You're welcome, Sirius." She siphoned the fallen hair off him, the floor, and herself with her wand and then picked up the braid and her scissors and started to leave the bathroom. She stopped just before the door leading out to the hall. "Sirius?"

"Yes?" he answered, still staring at himself in the mirror.

"Welcome back."


	4. Chapter 4

"Merlin," cried Lucy. "What is that smell?"

"I gave Leal the morning off and I was trying to make a proper English breakfast, but I don't think the sausages are quite the same over here, and there aren't any kippers so I tried to make due with some local fish but I don't think its working." Sirius answered.

"Please," she said holding out her wand to him. "Make it go away."

Sirius took her wand and cast a quick vanishing spell on the sausages and fish. "I think the eggs and tomatoes are still good, want to give them a try?"

"Just the eggs please." Lucy answered, sitting down at the table.

Sirius served her breakfast and they ate together in silence. The two had fallen into an easy pattern with each other during the last few weeks they had been living with together. They usually woke up midmorning, ate breakfast, went for a swim at the beach, and then headed off to the local markets to see what they had to offer. They would come home in the afternoon and take a nap, then eat dinner together and watch muggle movies or sometimes just talk until bedtime. Lucy told him stories about her work, about the animals on the farm growing up, or what it was like to be the youngest and only girl in her family. Sirius in turn talked about his days at Hogwarts with James and Remus, leaving Peter out of most of the stories, and his adventures with the Order of the Phoenix.

As the days passed she noticed his skin starting to lose some of its pallor, and with regular meals he was beginning to lose a bit of the gauntness in his face. Lucy thought sometimes that Sirius was like a plant that had been left in the dark for too long and was starting to grow again. He was smiling more frequently now even laughing occasionally at some of her stupid jokes, but the smiles never quite reached his eyes. They were still empty and haunted. She supposed that after twelve years in Azkaban it might take more than a few weeks of tropical sunshine to make the emptiness leave.

Sirius sat back from the table and rubbed his stomach. "That was surprisingly edible considering I haven't cooked a thing in 13 years."

"I must agree," Lucy conceded. "Surprisingly good eggs. Gourmet eggs, even."

Sirius gave her another one of his half smiles. "So what's the game plan for today?" he asked as he cleared the plates off the table.

"I stayed up late night and finished carving your wand, so I was thinking we could work on the core today."

"Sounds like a plan." Sirius said. "I still can't believe you are related to Mr. Ollivander from the wand shop."

"Well, he is my great-great-great uncle. Two hundred years old and still going strong, he's part goblin on his mother's side, you know. It gives him that certain air of creepiness that used to scare the bejeezus out of me when I was kid."

"Well good, I'm glad that it wasn't just me. 'Ah yes, Mr. Black, ash wood and dragon heart string, nine and a half inches, the wand picks the wizard, boy.'" Sirius mocked.

"No, Uncle Aloysius is intense, and that's on his good days. He used to make my brothers and I come visit him and teach us all the finer aspects of wandmaking. He's always complaining that none of us are trying to learn the family business, not that he would ever relinquish it. I bring him back wand wood now when I come across a good tree, dragon hearts and unicorn hair too. Gráinne absolutely despises him, of course he is always eyeing her like he wants to pluck every feather from her tail. I've 

tried bringing him other things over the years, things they use for wand cores in other places, but he is stubborn. He insists those three make the best wands."

"How did you manage to get a phoenix?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, would she be offended if she heard you say that!" Lucy exclaimed. "I don't think anyone can get a phoenix, I think they get us. The truth is I was in the Himalayas looking for Yeti droppings of all things, don't ask-some wizards have odd needs, when I came across a couple of poachers who had managed to capture her. I'll never know how they did it, but they had her nailed to board inside a cage to keep her from apparating away. I rescued her and took care of her. I figured she would stick around till her wings were healed or she regenerated, whichever came first, but she never left. Dumbledore's Fawkes has a real bad crush on her. Acts like a peacock in love every time he sees her."

Gráinne trilled from her perch in the living room in agreement, then flew into the kitchen and began nibbling at the flower box of herbs that Leal grew for her in the window.

"Can I see the wand?" Sirius asked.

"Sure, let me go get it from my room." Lucy got up to do as he asked and when she returned to the kitchen, she found Sirius using her wand again to clean up the dishes from the morning. A foaming river had started to pour from the kitchen sink onto the tile floor. Sirius danced around panicked casting vanishing spells and finite incantems until the mess cleaned itself up. Lucy was doubled over in laughter at the sight.

"Ha, bloody, ha." Sirius said sarcastically. "You know I can't get certain spells to work right with your wand. I can't wait for you to finish mine."

"Yeah right," Lucy said, her laughter subsiding to giggles. "It can't have anything to do with the fact that you were a rich kid who had no need for common household cleaning charms."

"I'll have you know I got O's in Charms during my entire Hogwarts career." He said, sitting down at the table. He lifted his t-shirt and used it to wipe some remaining bubbles off his cheek. They had picked up a new wardrobe for him over the last few weeks but most of the clothes he had chosen lived up to his name and were black or other dark colors. "It's clearly your wand."

"That must be it. Here," Lucy said handing him the wand. It was still in two pieces, the hollow shaft and an intricately carved handle. They wouldn't be put together until she had placed that core inside. She was particularly proud of her work. Despite knowing the procedure, she hadn't made too many wands over the years, but when they had gone for a hike the week before Sirius had found a beautiful Brazilian Cherry Tree. It was very old and after looking carefully they had a found a branch that Lucy was sure would make a fantastic wand. She had carved the handle with Celtic knots and as a surprise she had carved the constellation of Canis Major into the wood making sure to define Sirius as the brightest star. Sirius rolled the wand over and over in his hands saying nothing. "Well its not polished yet. Can't do that till the core is in, so it will look different once…"

"No." Sirius said. "It amazing. It the best wand I've ever seen. I am just surprised it feels warm already in my hands."

"Well that can happen with custom made wands." Lucy explained. "Often the user will choose a branch based on feel alone and the maker will carve it to his or her specifications. You chose a whole tree."

Sirius smiled at her. The first genuine smile she had seen from him yet. "It's wonderful, thank you."



"Your welcome, but we aren't finished yet. We've got to choose the core. I assume since your last wand was dragon string it's probably what would work best for you again. Often wizards or witches change wands over the years but the core stays the same. So let's see what we have."

Lucy had also brought her pack back with her from her bedroom. It was the same pack she had been wearing the night she had met Sirius. It looked like an ordinary muggle backpack, the kind you see people carrying when hiking or traveling. It was army green and mounted to a small metal frame. Under the pack there was a small tent roll attached to the frame. To the naked eye, it was completely unremarkable. But the pack itself was charmed to have unlimited space on the inside and also to duplicate anything she placed inside of it. As long as the original remained inside she could have an endless supply of food, arrows, or whatever she needed to get her job done. The tent, of course, was built to wizarding standards.

Lucy carried the pack outside and disconnected the tent roll and placed it on the ground. She cast an Erecto charm and the tent immediately formed into its proper shape. Sirius followed her inside. The inside of the tent resembled a typical London flat with comfy couches and a small kitchen area. Sirius could see a bedroom through the door to the right, and a bathroom through the door by the kitchen. Lucy unlocked the door on to the left with her wand and waved Sirius inside. "This is my storeroom," she said. "Its where I keep the things I acquire before I can sell them."

Inside looked like a combination of an apocathery and the inside of Hagrid's cabin. Hundreds of jars lined the shelves with neat hand written labels on them. Animal horns and rolls of skins hung from the ceiling waiting to be used. There was an area in the corner the contained plants Sirius had never seen before being grown under a sunlight spell and self-watering charm. Some of the plants look as arid as a desert and others were continually misting themselves. There was a worktable set up in the center of the room with various tools and pieces of machinery on it. Some Sirius recognized, like the grinder and scales, others he had never seen before in his life. A steel pot rack hung above the table holding cauldrons of different sizes and materials.

"Welcome to my office." Lucy said. She walked over to a chest of wooden drawers and opened the top drawer and removed several velvet bags and placed on the worktable in front of Sirius. She began to open them and placed the contents of them on top of the bags in display. They looked a lot like pieces of the beef jerky she had given him as a treat when he was in his dog form the night they met. "Dragon heart string. Not actually string at all, it's the muscle that divides the six chambers of the dragon's heart."

"Where are they from?" Sirius asked.

"This one," she said pointing to the first. "Is from a nasty little Peruvian Vipertooth that I killed myself when he tried to attack my camp one night when I was looking for a rare orchid in the Andes. They are small buggers, but damn are they nasty. Nearly burnt down my tent, but I managed to kill him with a double-edged boomerang I bought in Perth. This one is from a Ukrainian Ironbelly, I bought it from an old woman in Minsk. This one is from a Hebridean Black, we're family friends with MacFusty clan, I guess it's the whole magical creature keepers run in small circles thing, but they gave me that to pass on to my uncle the last time I was up there. And this last one is from a Romanian Longhorn. Every time I am in the area I stop by, they give me the best prices on dung believe it or not, and unfortunately the last time I was there they lost a dragon. The head keeper let me have the heart since he knows my family name but he wouldn't let me have the horns, buried them with the dragon. Waste of profit if you ask me."

Lucy threaded the first dragon heartstring through the shaft of the wand and handed it to Sirius. He gave it a wave and shrugged. "Nothing." He said.

"Ok not the Vipertooth then, let's try the Ironbelly." She repeated the procedure and handed the wand back to Sirius, who once again flourished it with no result. Lucy patiently removed the last piece inserted the third piece of dragon heart into the wand. This time when she handed it to Sirius, it 

warmed immediately in his hand and set off red sparks. "There it is, a Black for a Black, I probably should have started with that one."

Sirius handed the wand back to her and she attached the carved handle. She sealed it with a spell and then cast a polishing charm that deepened the wood to a warm brown. Another polishing charm had it gleaming like glass. "Congratulations, sir, you are once again a wand owner."

Sirius waved the wand around, whipping it above his head and jabbing it from below. He gave Lucy a devilish smile and with a silent swish and flick she found herself airborne. "Sirius Black, put me down this instant! I do not find this a proper display of gratitude for someone who just gave you a present."

Sirius laughed and released Lucy from the charm. "I feel like a real wizard again. We should go out and celebrate. Maybe go into town. I have a letter for Harry I need to mail. C'mon let's go."

Lucy was surprised. This was the most emotion she had seen from Sirius since he came to Brazil. "Ok, I'll tell you want, I know this great dinner club on the beach not too far from here, why don't we make a night of it?"

"Fantastic!" Sirius said, still brandishing his wand against unseen foes.

"We'll mail the letter before we go to dinner." Lucy suggested.

"Excellent!" Sirius said, while stalking a roll of Dragon skin hanging from the ceiling.

"Sirius," Lucy began. "Get out of my workshop before you break something."

"Of course!" he said, and ran out the door.

Sirius spent the rest of the afternoon stunning anything around the house that moved. Birds sitting in the trees in the garden were not safe. Lucy found a paralyzed spider in the bathroom. She ran outside to find the source of the explosions she was hearing, only to find that Sirius had commandeered Leal into setting up glass bottles for him so he could hit the with reducto curses. She thought about asking him to stop but he was having so much fun, and Leal was clapping every time one burst into pieces, so she decided to leave them to their fun. She would definitely have Leal double clean the patio before walking out there in bare feet again though.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a long time since Lucy had gotten to play dress up so she took an extra long time getting ready for dinner that evening. She chose a light white cotton dress with thin straps that crisscrossed down her back. The bottom of the dress was made up of different layers of material, cut unevenly, to be shorter in the front then the back, like a waterfall. She pulled her pale blonde hair back into an intricate bun and fastened a few small white roses from the garden on one side of it with a charm. She used another charm to darken her ridiculously pale eyelashes, her skin had already been darkened by the last few weeks with the sun, and so she finished the look with a touch of pale pink lip-gloss. She had just sprayed on a bit of her favorite perfume when she heard a knock at her door.

The sight of Sirius on the other side of the door took Lucy's breath away for a few moments. He was wearing a black silk dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up over a black t-shirt and dress pants. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail revealing the still sharp lines of his face. "Wow." He whispered. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you, sir. All ready?"

"Yes." He replied.

"Take my arm. I'll side-along you since you don't know where we're going."

Their first stop was the local wizarding post office. Lucy paid for a long distance bird to take Harry's letter. A large hyacinth macaw, the largest parrot there, came down and allowed Lucy to tie the letter to its leg and then it flew out the skylight in the ceiling. Sirius took Lucy's arm again and she apparated them to the alley behind the muggle café where they were going.

The hostess sat them at an outdoor table in the garden area of the restaurant. The night had cooled off nicely and there was a lovely breeze. The table was covered with white linen topped off with candles and colorful flowers. As Lucy perused the menu, she realized Sirius hadn't said a word since they left the post office. She looked to find him sitting across from her with the menu open, but judging by the glazed look in his eye he wasn't seeing a thing written there. "All right?" she asked.

"What?" he asked, startled.

"Are you all right? You look like you're a million miles away."

He set the menu down. "Did you see the wanted posters at the post office?"

"I wouldn't worry too much about seeing your own," Lucy replied. "Law enforcement is not the same here as it is in England. It's definitely more lax. Unless you are running around in the streets announcing that you are a convicted criminal, and even then you'd have to make sure you were in a wiz…a certain section of town, you aren't going to be caught. It was rumored that there were some death eaters that came here after Voldemort's fall. I have never come across them, but I wouldn't be surprised either. As beautiful as this country is, it definitely has its shadier sections."

They ordered white wine to go with the shellfish appetizers, then red wine with steaks for their main course. The food was delicious and they both ate with gusto. For dessert, Lucy ordered flan with fresh fruit and Sirius ordered a decadently sinful chocolate cake.

"This feels like a date." Sirius said as they were enjoying their dessert.

"Really? It has been so long since I have been on a date I wouldn't know." Lucy answered.

"Long since you've been on date!" Sirius laughed. "I used to be quite the ladies man, but I never went out on a lot of dates."

"Oh really," said Lucy sarcastically. "Witches just fell at your feet then?"

"In fairness, we were in the middle of the war, there wasn't a lot time for proper courtship."

"So no long term relationships in your past then that I should know about." Lucy asked.

"Not really, what about you?"

"Some. I never really dated anyone when I was at Hogwarts. I was so shy. Always had my face buried in a book. Spent most of my time in the library. I did get my first there while I was there though. Billy Boot."

"I had my first kiss at Hogwarts too. When I was a firstie." Sirius said.

"Oh I imagine you had a lot of first kisses at Hogwarts with that attitude."



"So what happened then, old Boot didn't sweep you off your broom?"

"No, not really. I am sure it didn't help that I ALWAYS had my brothers around, big hulking lot that they were."

"Exactly how many older brothers do you have?" Sirius asked nervously.

"Three, but we are all pretty close in age so for a few years we were all at Hogwarts together. Jeremiah is the oldest, he is three years older than me, then there's Brendan, who is a year older, and Henry, who is fifteen minutes older than me and has never let me forget it."

"You have a twin?"

"Yes, but he looks nothing like me. All of my brothers have dark hair and are all over six feet tall. I got the light hair from my Mom's side of the family and though I am not quite as short as she is, I am definitely the runt of the litter."

"Well that's ok, I am not sure I would fancy you as much if you were of Amazonian proportions." Sirius said. Lucy could feel herself blush when Sirius said he fancied her but said nothing. "So do these brothers have careers as exciting as yours?"

Lucy laughed. "No, well maybe, but not as exotic. Jeremiah is an arithmatist for Gringotts. Brendan works on the farm with my father, and Henry, well I guess he's the most exciting of the bunch, he is an Auror."

"Fantastic." said Sirius blackly. "His latest case is probably searching for me."

"Maybe." said Lucy pensively. "But I think that this would be the last place he would look. He knows I own a home here, but he's never been to visit. We don't see much of each other now except for holidays and the like. He doesn't really understand what I do, none of them really do. They all just think I travel around aimlessly on Mom and Dad's sickle and wonder why I haven't settled down yet and started popping out babies."

"And why haven't you?" asked Sirius haughtily.

"Because, it's not easy meeting someone when you do what I do. It isn't every bloke who wants to hear, 'No dear, I am sorry I can't make our date tonight I have to jet off to Africa and see a man about some Erumpment fluid.' Also I think a lot of guys get intimidated when one of their girlfriend's hobbies is disemboweling dragons. The last guy I dated was great, he was a dragon keeper, a bit younger than me but great."

"What happened?"

"A lot of things. He loved his job, and had no intention of following me around the world to do mine, so we didn't get to see a lot of each other to start off with. Politics had a bit to do with it. He thought that a lot of what I did, especially the hunting, was barbaric. It didn't matter how many times I argued with him that what I did was necessary, I mean its not like I am raising puffskiens and making fur coats out of them, some of the things I get are vital ingredients in life saving potions!"

"Of course." Sirius agreed.

"He also wanted to settle down and get married." Lucy said wistfully. "He came from a big family, and I guess he wanted to start one of his own, but I wasn't ready yet to even think about it. Anyway, it's been over for about a year. We still bump into each other from time to time, and its friendly, but you know how it goes."

"Mmmmm." Sirius nodded in agreement as he took another sip of wine.

"I suppose you had a lot of witches hoping they would be the one to tame you." Lucy said.

"I did, I guess. I don't know why, I never gave any of them that impression. Lily used to get so mad at me, called them my 'witch of the week club'."

"All women have a bad boy fantasy. See the truth is there are plenty of great blokes to be had, and eventually most girls will find one of them and settle down. But there is nothing more exciting than the thought of being the one girl in the entire world who can tame a wild man. To be the one who he gives up all the others for." Lucy explained.

"Oh really," said Sirius, leaning in with interest. "And how many have you tried to tame?"



"None." Said Lucy matter-of-factly. "I think the whole thing is crap. The girls who want to reform the bad boy, are also the ones who end up staying at home, crying their eyes out with their hearts broken. Nobody settles down until they are good and ready for it and some people never do."

"And you've never fallen for the 'bad boy' by accident?" Sirius asked.

"No, you can always spot them coming a mile off." Lucy answered sipping her wine.

"How do you do that?" he asked.

"They always have copious amounts of charm, it's easy to pick up on." Lucy replied.

"I don't know charm can be pretty irresistible." Sirius stated.

"Totally resistible." Lucy corrected.

Little did Lucy know but Sirius Black considered those words a personal challenge.

"This is so good." He said taking another bite of his cake. "Do you like chocolate?"

"Does a niffler like gold?" Lucy answered.

"You've got to try this then," Sirius said. He slid his chair around the table closer to Lucy and placed a large bite of the cake on his fork. "Open up."

Lucy did as he asked. "That really is quite good." She said after she had swallowed.

"Hold on, you've got a bit of chocolate."

"Where?" she asked, grabbing her napkin.

"Right here." Said Sirius, and he ran his thumb over her bottom lip, and stuck it in between his own, sucking the chocolate off.

"Thanks," she said, feeling a blush creeping up her cheeks that she hoped he wouldn't notice in the soft light.

"I have an idea," he stated. "Let's dance."

"What?" she said confused.

"I said," Sirius leaned in closer to her. "Let's dance."

"Ok." She replied.

Sirius led her by the hand to the dance floor, when they reached it he lifted her arm above her head and twirled her around once and pulled her close to him. He wrapped both of his arms around her waist and she laid hers on his shoulders. He quick stepped her around forcing her to keep up with him as they swayed to the Latin beat.

"Where did you learn to dance?" she asked.

"My mother made me take lessons when I was younger, they used to hold balls all the time and she felt it was most important that I look impressive on the dance floor." he said as he spun her around and held her back against him.

His hands moved up her body lifting her arms above her head. He slid his hands back down her body and spread them across her hips. Lucy's breath caught in her throat. It felt like her entire body had caught fire. He rolled his hips moving her body with his. She could feel his breath against her neck and it made her shiver. Slowly, he spun her place around and pressed their bodies close together again, one hand on her hips, her breasts crushed up against him. Their hips continued to sway back and forth to the music as he led their steps across the floor. Fast, fast, slow, slow, over and over again. Lucy began to lose herself in the rhythm. He gently dipped her back while still holding onto her hips, so she was completely at his mercy. He trailed his hand down the side of her body as she came up and looked him in the eye.



The music stopped but Lucy hadn't noticed, she was still moving with Sirius. He leaned in even closer to her and whispered into her ear. "I thought you were immune to charm."

Lucy jumped back as if he had thrown a bucket of cold water on her. "I will kill you."

For the first time in thirteen years Sirius Black truly laughed.


	6. Chapter 6

"What do you think I should get Harry for his birthday?"

"What?" Lucy asked over the grinding of Graphorn horn that she had finally gone back to Poland and captured the week before. Sirius had gone with her and he enjoyed the outing.

"What should I get Harry for his birthday?" Sirius asked again, this time louder.

Lucy rolled her eyes and cast a finite incantatem on the grinding machine. "Try that again." She requested.

"Harry's birthday is next week. I was going to ask Leal to bake him a cake, but what do you think I should get him for a present? I want it to be something great, this is first year I get to get him a present on his actual birthday."

"Didn't you tell me that you bought him a Firebolt for Christmas? That should cover all presents for the next ten years."

"That," Sirius sighed, "Was a huge present to make up for thirteen years of missed Christmases and birthdays. This is a new start, so he needs a new present."

"Well, I've got a few rolls of dragon skin left, how about a jacket?" Lucy asked.

Sirius' face lit up at the idea, and then fell. "I don't know his size."

"Well, I am sure we can think of something. We'll head up to the wizarding village in the mountains if you like and shop."

Leal bustled into the workshop. "Miss Lucia, the mail is being here now. Should I be leaving it on the table?"

"No, that's okay Leal, I'll take it."

Leal handed Lucy a battered, dusty envelope. She opened it and sighed.

"Anything interesting?" Sirius asked.

"I've got a dealer in America who claims he has four vials of Re'em blood for sale." Lucy told him.

"Well that's really rare stuff isn't it?" Sirius inquired.

"Yes, but this particular dealer is slicker than a greased niffler. I wouldn't be surprised if I got all the way up there and he sold it before I arrived."

"Then why bother going?" Sirius asked."

"Because there is always the chance that he didn't." Lucy smiled. "Have you ever been to Texas?"

Three floo trips and an apparition later, Sirius and Lucy stood in front of a ramshackle house in southern Texas. Gusting wind blew dust clouds down the brown plains around them making Sirius cringe. This was the most depressing place Sirius had ever seen. Worse than Azkaban in the way that whoever lived in this manky little house had the freedom to leave, and chose to stay in this desolate place with hardly any vegetation and no neighbors for miles.

"Just leave the talking to me." Lucy said as she climbed the stairs of the sagging front porch. She rapped three times on the door, and Sirius was surprised that the force of the blows didn't cause the door to cave inwards. After a few long moments the ugliest man Sirius had ever seen answered the door. He was wearing a stained sleeveless white undershirt that did not fully contain his large stomach, which spilled over the top of his filthy ripped jeans. His shoe polish black hair was slicked back to his head with what looked like lard and his lower lip jutted out, full of chewing tobacco, giving him the overall appearance of a very greasy gorilla. Sirius would have bet a handful of galleons that a gorilla would probably be more intelligent.

"Lyle Gomes." Lucy said. "A pleasure to see you as always."

Lyle gave Lucy a hard stare up and down and then spat a large brown glob onto his dilapidated porch at her feet. "Ain't you a sight for sore eyes, Lou. I made a bet with Tex that you'd come running here from wherever you was when you got my note. I guess he owes me five sickles."

"And how is your charming brother?" Lucy asked.



"Ugly as ever," Lyle replied. "Who's this yer boyfriend?"

"As a matter of fact, I am." Sirius said.

"What's yer name, fella?" Lyle asked.

"Remus Lupin." Sirius answered without hesitation.

Lucy glared at Sirius over her shoulder. "So where's the blood, Lyle?"

"Inside. Come on in. Y'all want a beer?"

"We'd rather not." Lucy said, following him through the door. If Sirius thought the outside of the house was depressing, the inside was just tragic. There was a coating of mud on the wooden floor, cobwebs hanging from every corner, and a general layer of filth on every available surface. Sirius made a conscious effort not to touch anything.

"So where'd you come across Re'em blood?" Lucy inquired.

"Tex caught one, just north of Houston." Lyle supplied.

"Hmmm, I didn't think that was a native area for the Re'em. You said you had four vials left. Trying to sell me your leftovers, Lyle?"

"Well I knew you'd be interested is all, Lou. Never pass up something as good as this."

"What's your asking price?"

"Forty galleons a vial, take it or leave it." He replied.

"Forty galleons a vial? Have the cooling charms on this shack of yours gone wonky and fried your brain?"

Lyle did his best to look offended. "Now, Lou, you know as well as I do that Re'em blood is a real rare commodity…"

"Rare as it might be Lyle, I have a supplier in Argentina who sells it to me for twenty galleons a vial and that's with the exchange rate." Whether that was true or not Sirius had no idea but he was enjoying watching her work.

"Well like I said, take it or leave it." Lyle repeated.

"Then I'll be leaving it. We have other business to attend to today. It was nice seeing you, Lyle." Lucy said, as she headed for the door.

Lyle began to backtrack. "Well now, Tex isn't going to be happy with me, but I guess I could give it to you for twenty a vial."

"Don't do me any favors." Lucy muttered sarcastically.

"It's all business, Lou, I swear."

"Cut the shite. Where's the blood, I want to see it first."

"You don't trust me?" Lyle asked, trying his hardest to muster some kind of hurt look onto his face. "Who helped you out, supplying you with armadillo bile when you was starting out?"

"Who was ripping me off for armadillo bile, overcharging me and watering down the product, Lyle?" Lucy retorted. "I don't trust you farther than I can throw a hippogriff down a hallway. Now get the blood."

Lyle left the room and Lucy turned to Sirius and silently rolled her eyes. A few moments later he returned carrying four vials in his meaty hand. "Here it is. Safe and sound."

"Let me look at it." Lucy insisted.



Lyle seemed reluctant to hand her the vials but did so anyway. "Remus," Lucy asked. "Light please."

Sirius cast a Lumos and Lucy held the vials up to his wand, rolling the contents back and forth in the tubes. She examined them individually and then all together before turning back to Lyle. "I'll give you 20 galleons."

"That's right, 20 each." He said.

"No," Lucy corrected. "I'll give you 20 galleons for the one that's actually Re'em's blood. The other three are dragon blood mixed with gold powder. Honestly, Lyle, do you think I am stupid?"

Lyle began to turn red in the face. "You insulting my products, Lou?"

"Just telling the truth, Lyle." Lucy answered coolly.

"Well you ain't right." He stated hotly. "And if you think so, you can leave that blood right here."

"Very well." Lucy said and threw one of the vials down onto the table. She grabbed her wand and vanished the other three. "You're not going to rip me off, but you're not going to rip anybody else off either."

Lyle's face progressed to a shade of light lavender now. "You destroyed my products! You owe me sixty galleons!"

Lucy turned at stared him dead in the face. "Don't piss on my leg and tell me its raining, Lyle. Not only wasn't that Re'em's blood, but you made the dragon blood useless by adding the gold to it the way you did!"

"Give me my money!" Lyle screamed.

"You're lucky I don't give you a kick to the arse!" Lucy shouted back.

Lyle spun around and grabbed his wand off the kitchen counter. "I said give me my money!"

Immediately, Lucy and Sirius pulled their wands out on Lyle. "I'll give your money when you have something worth buying." Lucy said with icy calm.

Lyle slowly realized that it was two against one and lowered his wand. "Ok," he conceded. "Maybe I got something else that would interest you."

"Like what?" Lucy asked, slowly lowering her own wand as Sirius followed suit.

"Got a couple bottles of powdered Bundimum secretions, undiluted."

"I can't imagine where you would find Bundimums when you keep such a clean house Lyle." Lucy replied.

"Let me go get it for you." He said as he left the room.

"Are you actually going to buy that from him?" Sirius whispered.

"I might," she answered. "Just to keep him satisfied. Believe it or not, he actually does come across some decent stuff once in a while, though probably by illegal gets."

Lyle entered the room carrying several bottles. He opened the first one and poured a handful of purple powder into his hand. As Lucy started to say, "That's not…" He blew it directly into their faces and blackness took them over.

It was hours later that Sirius opened his eyes and found he was lying on the floor in a dark room. It took him a few moments to recall where he was. He immediately reached for his wand relieved that Lyle hadn't stolen it. He cast a Lumos and found Lucy still unconscious on the floor nearby. With a flick of his wand he woke her up but he didn't expect the reaction he got. She woke up screaming.

"Where is he, that son of a bitch, I will kill him! I'll hex off his bollocks and make him eat them, I'll…"

"He's long gone." Sirius interrupted.



"Bastard." She muttered, and stood up dusting off her clothes from the Merlin knows what that was on the floor of Lyle Gomes' shack.

"What was that stuff?" Sirius asked.

"Sommeil Profund." She answered. "French sleeping powder. What time is it?"

"I have no idea," Sirius replied. "But its dark out."

"Damn it. We need to go get to the floo house. Otherwise we are going to be stranded here for the night." Lucy grabbed his arm apparated them both back to the International Floo Station, which to the muggle eye looked like an Old West General Store. It was obvious that it was closed and probably had been for a while. "Shit, shit, shit. We're stuck. I don't even have my pack with me. This is total crap."

"It could be worse." Sirius stated.

"How?" Lucy asked. "I have no idea where we are. The only reason I was able to apparate us to Lyle's was because I had side-alonged with him from here before. I know were in Texas but besides that we're lost. And on top of that we have to spend the night on the ground."

"We could be in Azkaban." Sirius replied. "Besides we're wizards, it's not like we can't adapt." He began to cast cushioning charms on the floor and warming charms around the porch of the general store so they wouldn't freeze or have to lie on the hard wood. Lucy watched grudgingly, a little disappointed that she hadn't thought of it herself. When he was done he transformed himself into a dog, and walked around in a circle three times before laying down on what he deemed a comfortable section of porch floor. He looked back up at her and barked eagerly as if to ask her what she was waiting for.

"You're going to make me spend the night with a dog?" Lucy asked him.

He barked again in answer.

"Fine, but if I get fleas…" Lucy threatened.

Lucy tried for several minutes to get comfortable, lying on her back and then switching to her side. Sirius had done an excellent job with the transfiguration but she was used to having at least two pillows on her bed at home. After trying to switch to her other side, she heard Sirius let out a long sigh. He got up and moved closer to her. She opened her eyes and sat up. He looked at her and rolled his eyes and scooted even closer. Finally she got the idea and lay down again, resting her head on his side just behind his front shoulder.

"Thank you," she whispered.

He let out a low but warm growl in return.

Lucy was pleased to find that he didn't smell like a dog. Sirius' fur smelled exactly the same as Sirius in his human form. Sandalwood soap, something musky, and a hint of vanilla. Not sweet vanilla, like a cake, but a deep, rich intoxicating vanilla, like the orchid. She buried her nose deeper into his side and sighed. He let out a deep sigh as well.

She had almost fallen asleep when she felt Sirius' entire body stiffen. His head shot up and cocked to the left, listening carefully. Clearly he heard something that she in her human body could not. She tried to ask him what was wrong and was rewarded with a look that said, 'Be quiet, I am clearly trying to concentrate here.' After a few more minutes of silence Sirius began to growl. Not the warm growling of earlier but a dark, menacing one. A moment later the cause of his alarm came into view. A lithe, golden mountain lion was circling the porch, standing only eight feet away from them. Hackles raised, Sirius stood up, looking the animal straight in the eyes and growling even louder.

Sirius wasn't exactly scared of the creature but he was very, very cautious. Although he was larger than the cat in his canine form, the other animal was with no doubt more agile. If it came down to a fight he was entirely sure he would be able to protect Lucy.

The mountain lion paced in front of Sirius in smaller and smaller circles getting ready to strike. Finally it lowered itself down to its haunches about to pounce and Sirius braced himself for the impact. He heard the growl of another angry cat and it took him a moment to realize that the noise was coming from behind him. His first thought was that another lion had circled in from behind but before he could turn to look there was a streak of black and a large cat had appeared from behind him and placed itself between him and the mountain lion. He stared for a full minute before realizing it was Lucy.

The smaller cat seemed to grow tired of all the posturing and leapt into the air to attack. Lucy was bigger than the other cat by almost half, and within seconds had the lion pinned to the ground under her large paws. She picked it up by the scruff on the back 

of its neck and tossed it several feet away, letting it know she was not interested in a fight. The lion wasn't having it and lunged again. Lucy repeated her actions and threw the cat to the ground again, clearly not wanting to hurt it. It got up to lunge once more but this time Lucy had enough. She pinned the other cat on his back and closed her large jaws around its throat. She held the cat to the ground while emitting a low deadly growl. After several long minutes of Sirius wondering whether she was actually going to kill it or not, she released the animal and stood back. The other cat stood and looked into her eyes before turning and running away.

Once the cat was no longer visible, Lucy changed back to her human form and Sirius followed. Minutes passed as they just stood and stared at each other. Finally, Sirius broke the silence, "You're an animagus."

"So are you," she answered, walking back towards the porch.

"But you knew I was. I transformed in front of you before." He answered.

"When would have been a good time to mention it?" she asked. "I only met you as a dog that first night with Dumbledore. What was I going to say? Hey, look at me, I can do that too?"

"You're unregistered?" Sirius asked.

"Not exactly." She replied. "I learned to transform in Brazil and there is no registration act there. I never made effort to register when I went back to England but I never showed off either."

"Does Dumbledore know?"

"Yes, he's one of the few. He was actually teasing me about it the night we met, albeit in a subtle way in front of you."

"Oh," Sirius stated. "Well it's not like I ever registered either. Nor James or Peter."

"You mentioned Peter the first night, but James was an animagus as well?" She asked as she sat down next to on the cushioned porch.

"Yes, a stag. We all learned how so we could be with Remus when he…."

"When he what?" Lucy prodded.

"Remus is…" Sirius hesitated, sitting down on the porch next to her and looking her in the face. "Remus is a werewolf. We learned so we could be with him safely during the full moon."

"Wow." Lucy said. "Good friends."

"Yes, we were." Sirius said, a wistful smile crossing his face.

"We should probably try to get some sleep." Lucy suggested, trying to distract him from his thoughts.

"Alright," he agreed. "But you're not sleeping on me and drooling all over my fur. You have your own fur coat to keep you warm."

"Yes but dogs are friendly, or at least they are supposed to be," she said, poking him in the side. "I don't think the owners of this place would be thrilled to find a black panther on their porch in the morning."

"Oh is that what you are? A panther? I thought you were an overgrown tabby."

"Shut up, mutt." Lucy snapped back. He began to laugh transforming in the middle of it. Lucy was amused at how much his bark sounded like his human laugh. She lay down beside him once again, curling up against him. She was surprised to feel herself begin to drift off immediately; she thought she would have trouble falling asleep after the fight.

"Good night, Sirius." She murmured into his side but her only answer was doggie snores.


End file.
